Thursday, November 22, 2012

Winter in Xian - Terracotta Warriors & Horses

It has been my wife's dream to visit "The Silk Road" in China where the ancient traders used to ply and where Buddhism was first preached. I had planned this trip for some years and decided that it would be much cheaper to travel on our own instead of joining the tour. It was so relaxing and hassle-free. We started off with the ancient capital of Xian which is in the Shaanxi Province. Next year onwards, we hope to visit other towns along "The Silk Road" like Dunhuang, Urumqi, Inner Mongolia and others.

It was our first time flying a Chinese plane as it was the cheapest and only airlines to reach Xian with stopover in Guangzhou. The KL-Guangzhou's plane was only a 737! Goodness, my balls! All others were Airbus, so okay, free-balls! Their snack food were served in paper boxes with an orange inside! LOL. Dinner meals were proper and complete in typical trays. I saw with my own eyes how those stewardess were very rude to China's passengers! It seemed to be acceptable culture!




We hired a male personal tour guide Tom Liang, online before the trip with a private chauffeur car! The car was big & comfortable and I felt like an Emperor! We visited the most famous historical site first and it was the Terracotta Warriors & Horses Museum. It was built with huge roofs over the 3 giant pits where tourists could walk around the sides to view at the sites below. It was freezing Winter and the best time to visit Xian. You will have no chance to snap nice photos if you visit during other seasons. It would be very crowded with people!



The figures, dating from 3rd century BC, were discovered in 1974 by some local farmers in Lintong district. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses.



Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits near by First Emperor Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. The above photo is the Pit No. 1.



The above photos are Pit No. 2 & 3. I just posted a small section of the whole large pits. All the soldier statues were badly smashed & destroyed by enemies in later years and had to be fixed back one by one. They have not finished them since 1974! I could write many paragraphs about the warriors and their history but not here as you could google them.



There were altogether 13 dynasties during the reign of Xian being the first capital of China. Almost everything was naturally greyish and brownish during the ancient days. It was during the Tang Dynasty when colours were being used in everything from buildings, figurines and clothings. Our tour guide Tom Liang was extremely patient and shared all his valuable knowledge of Xian with us. He could converse in both both Mandarin & English fluently. Somehow I think it was better to express the history in Mandarin language.


It was the begining of Winter and we experienced the temp from 8 degrees Celcius down to Minus 5 degrees at the peak of Huashan Mountains. We ate our first typical Xian Dishes for lunch and the bill was less than RM25.It was delicious and nice.








66 comments:

  1. Since you only blogged about rude stewardess, terracotta warriors and a bit of makan, there'll be more Xian posts coming up? :-)

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    1. I wanted to post all into one Xian post. I could hear Ah Hua screaming loudly in protests! Like hantu only! kakakakaka

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    2. I also will protest and scream like a BANSHEE! HAHAHA

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    3. i will also protest and scream like letchumi being chased by anay around the coconut trees!!

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    4. it's okay we know anay is not foongpc.. you will summarized your trip within 5 posts, unlike him that purposely expand his 5 days trip into 50 posts with every inch of details.. wakakakaka!! :D

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    5. I took over 1000 photos. What do you think????

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    6. Yay!! More posts of Xian to come!

      Yes, I'll scream like pontianak if Annay were to squeeze all his balls into one post!

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    7. Rude stewardess? But how come Annay so friend with the actual-board-figure of the red uniform lady? Cheh!

      Go grab a real one la! Why choose fake?

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    8. I think China planes are the only ones that have rude stewards and stewardess so far. I had never seen them elsewhere. I would still fly in it since it is still cheapest in the world. Many cities in China are only served by China planes.

      Okay I will post another 3 posts of Xian. Everyone happy yeah!

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    9. Itu Panda got sound me wor... One year after Japan trip still writing and recycling stories at my Japan blog. :-D

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    10. No la.

      His style and my style different what.

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    11. But he always reminded me I like to drag and recycle photos. woowoowoo

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    12. ya la...dont post all in one post la...read till wanna sleep liao and dont know how to begin commenting


      how they stewardess rude to China people? Scolding them ka? Curious ni. so far havent really encounter rude ones...of course i never travel so widely la...all mostly air asia and mas :p

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  2. I'm intrigued and curious abt old China but unfortunately can't stand much of current China. O.O

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    1. You should visit Xian as the ancient mosque is so old and beautiful!! So many Chinese Muslims live in Xian.

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    2. i am definitely intrigued by the Chinese history especially the Ching Dynasty.. all the emperors, all the concubines and all the eunuchs, they are indeed legendary!!

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    3. Kakakaka, SK is daydreaming of being the Emperor of Koh Dynasty. Wait, you want to be the emperor, getting special treatment day and night by the concubines, draining all your "Yang" away; or you want to be the eunuch, serving the old Empress?

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    4. I am very curious how the Eunuchs pee?? Anyone knows??

      Mana ada Koh Dynasty!!!! Wakakakakakaka....

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    5. me too intrigue about old china.

      The new ones with all the politic is very heart sick la when i read about it

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  3. hmmm i dont know when...but i really want to visit xian...wish i can touch the warrior but i know, i cant hehehe. gonna pray that my hubby will add this place in our wishlist...

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    1. Your mind power is strong!!! Your prayers memang will be answered! I know how much you loved Japan. Sure Xian will be good too except you might see some kurang ajar people. Never mind!

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    2. kurang ajar people? hahaha! we ajar them back! wah hahaha!

      *pray hard for xian*

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  4. syok! so did the "Bing Ma Yong" move and spank your ass ar? XD

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  5. Spanked my ass? ??? Sohai.. wakakakaka

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    1. Ooooo I excited kalau dengar spanking spankig ni. Miahaha

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    2. ini hamsap Mak Rempit sure more (s)excited kalau kena spanked!! she's into SM~~ :D

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    3. I takde takut Rotan punya. LOL

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    4. You got tough concrete ass! Kakakaka

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    5. Apa syok, concrete ass. Must have soft ass, nice to play play with! Muahaha!!!!

      Though I think after this, ass will be harder as I need to do more session on spinning bike to complement my runs to prepare for my marathon. Kesian my ass. o.O

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    6. Lina pasal dengar spanking she will very alert LOL

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    7. Immediately come and comment, for sure! LOL

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  6. yes, just like the malaysian steward, they are more polite to foreigners especially the whites, and then can be very rude with the locals.. i once complaint a MAS stewardess for her rude service, really cannot stand her CB face lah..

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  7. aiyoyo this anay trying to act cute in front of the terra cotta with that CB v-sign!! no lah, during their time, there was no v-sign yet, and they were also not allowed to do anything besides standing firm and still on their ground..

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    1. They got vulgar signs too but hands kena amputated la.

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  8. yeah, very true.. before the Tang Dynasty everything seems to be so colorless.. it's the Tang Dynasty that brought more color to the Chinese history, and the Japanese are sure a big influence of the Tang Dynasty.. but Thambee is more interested in the Ching Dynasty, more legendary lah..

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    1. I think you and I must be Ching eunuchs!!! I also love the Ching stories and was impressed with the palaces in Beijing and Chengde. You been there??

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    2. OMG?! Why eunuchs? Should have say you guys are the reincarnation of Ching Dynasty's handsome princes!

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    3. I think SP looks like a China Prince with his natural hamsap face!

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  9. your first lunch at Xi'an cost you RM25 each person or the whole table?? wow, if everything total up to just RM25 then that's really very cheap!! anay again becomes a smart consumer..

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    1. It was RM 25 for whole table with one dish not yet served. My tour guide was so honest and always found value for money deals.

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    2. it was really cheap.. well it is tough life in China..
      how come they don't slaugther you..
      give you qwailo price...

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    3. Annay doesn't look qwailo la. He looks like Li Lian Ying, kakaka!

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    4. Wah this Yvonne is so pandai. I had to google its Li Lian Ying name as it was so familiar. Now only I remembered that tour guide in Chengdu told us about his foxy tales at the Summer Palace.

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    5. wei....like that pls keep your guide contact...if next time i wanna go there can ask you. Honest guide hard to find leh.

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  10. thanks for posting the travel journey~ =D

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    1. You are most welcome. Please visit Xian when you are free.

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  11. I have seen those terracotta too..simply amazing!

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    1. Their Chinese history is so interesting and scary sometimes!

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  12. Eeeeee.....I thought you had a blow-up doll. Ya...I've seen those warriors on Discovery Channel or National Geographic.

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    1. If I had seen the blow up dolls, I would have bought for you! You need one!

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    2. Anay, later you go Japan you can buy those dolls for STP! LOL

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  13. I can see you guys were cold; as wrapped like dumpling under the thick clothing :D

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    1. It was freezing esp the mountains was minus 5 degrees!

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  14. wah, must be very magnificent right?

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    1. I was impressed with their historical sites. They are the oldest in China and well preserved till now.

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  15. apa la...grab China paper doll..grab the real one la :p

    this post just nice lenght...not too long winded

    anyway...RM25 is very cheap leh. Then how come u c=say the food..ahem ahem...

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  16. Wow quite a massive handicraft that will take years to get them done to keep the King company when he passed on. Heard going to 'Silk Road' is very challenging and must be tough to endure the journey.

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  17. I kept asking my husband where is Xian. I said one of my blogger friend went to Xian. Now only I know XIAN is 西安. Ic, ic.

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  18. It's always been one of my dreams to do the Silk Road ... on horseback! It won't ever happen, though, so I'm glad I can follow it via your stories.

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  19. Hi, do you mind sharing with me the contact details of the tour guide that you hired? Thank you.

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  20. i think the Terracotta warriors was the only main reason why i visited Xian several years ago. your photos bring back wonderful flashbacks of my trip. Thank you.

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